Guardians of the Empire

Released by the conquests of Napoleon and stoked by the fires of the 1848 Revolutions, the age of nationalism took Europe by storm in the nineteenth century and lasted well into the twentieth century. For those states that enjoyed a more homogenous population, such as the emerging German Empire, nat...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Benjamin James Manuatu
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing 2021-12-01
Series:Central Europe
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/cey/article/view/3592
_version_ 1818507416232263680
author Benjamin James Manuatu
author_facet Benjamin James Manuatu
author_sort Benjamin James Manuatu
collection DOAJ
description Released by the conquests of Napoleon and stoked by the fires of the 1848 Revolutions, the age of nationalism took Europe by storm in the nineteenth century and lasted well into the twentieth century. For those states that enjoyed a more homogenous population, such as the emerging German Empire, nationalism would prove to be a useful tool in mobilizing their citizens and increasing their capabilities for warfare. For the Austrian Empire, which represented more a polyethnic and multilingual conglomerate than a unified state, nationalism would present itself as an existential threat from which the polity could not recover. This article analyzes the Habsburg army and the role it played in maintaining the Austrian Monarchy in the face of nationalist aggression from the 1848 Revolutions to its ultimate end at the climax of the First World War. The army served not only as a physical shield for the Empire but also as a symbol for the unity of all ethnic groups under the command of the Habsburg emperor and held the potential to be a tool of integration and unity for the multiple ethnic groups. Using military and nationalism theories, this article examines the challenges the army was forced to contend with in order to maintain the monarchy and how the language issue plagued combat effectiveness and also served as a hotbed of grievances for the multiple ethnic groups of the Empire.
first_indexed 2024-12-10T22:18:07Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2229e339e8b64788a312bea6a0a1deb2
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 2689-5978
language deu
last_indexed 2024-12-10T22:18:07Z
publishDate 2021-12-01
publisher University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing
record_format Article
series Central Europe
spelling doaj.art-2229e339e8b64788a312bea6a0a1deb22022-12-22T01:31:24ZdeuUniversity of Minnesota Libraries PublishingCentral Europe2689-59782021-12-0131621794209Guardians of the EmpireBenjamin James Manuatu0Victoria University of WellingtonReleased by the conquests of Napoleon and stoked by the fires of the 1848 Revolutions, the age of nationalism took Europe by storm in the nineteenth century and lasted well into the twentieth century. For those states that enjoyed a more homogenous population, such as the emerging German Empire, nationalism would prove to be a useful tool in mobilizing their citizens and increasing their capabilities for warfare. For the Austrian Empire, which represented more a polyethnic and multilingual conglomerate than a unified state, nationalism would present itself as an existential threat from which the polity could not recover. This article analyzes the Habsburg army and the role it played in maintaining the Austrian Monarchy in the face of nationalist aggression from the 1848 Revolutions to its ultimate end at the climax of the First World War. The army served not only as a physical shield for the Empire but also as a symbol for the unity of all ethnic groups under the command of the Habsburg emperor and held the potential to be a tool of integration and unity for the multiple ethnic groups. Using military and nationalism theories, this article examines the challenges the army was forced to contend with in order to maintain the monarchy and how the language issue plagued combat effectiveness and also served as a hotbed of grievances for the multiple ethnic groups of the Empire.https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/cey/article/view/3592habsburg empiremilitary historynationalism
spellingShingle Benjamin James Manuatu
Guardians of the Empire
Central Europe
habsburg empire
military history
nationalism
title Guardians of the Empire
title_full Guardians of the Empire
title_fullStr Guardians of the Empire
title_full_unstemmed Guardians of the Empire
title_short Guardians of the Empire
title_sort guardians of the empire
topic habsburg empire
military history
nationalism
url https://pubs.lib.umn.edu/index.php/cey/article/view/3592
work_keys_str_mv AT benjaminjamesmanuatu guardiansoftheempire